Non-uniform distributed multi-stage circuits

Abstract

Provided herein is a non-uniform multi-stage distributed circuit capable of operation with an improved gain-bandwidth product. The circuit can include an input port, an output port and a transmission line coupled therebetween. Two or more amplifier stages can be coupled successively to the transmission line. Each amplifier stage can include a transistor having a transistor parameter, which can be scaled to be less than the transistor parameter of any preceding amplifier stage. The inductance of each portion of the transmission line between adjacent stages can also be scaled to be less than the inductance of the portion of the transmission line between any preceding amplifier stages. The inductance can be scaled in addition to or instead of the transistor parameter.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates to distributed circuits and, more particularly, to distributed circuits having multiple non-uniform stages.BACKGROUND INFORMATION[0002]In accordance with the ever-increasing growth in wireless and wire-line communication markets, it is desirable that integrated circuits, such as analog and RF front-ends, operate with wider bandwidths in higher frequency ranges, such as the multi-Gigahertz range. One circuit architecture capable of performing at such a level is the distributed amplifier circuit architecture. A distributed amplifier typically trades delay with bandwidth in order to achieve a much higher bandwidth than a lumped architecture. There have been tremendous efforts to use and implement distributed architectures in various technologies within the communications and other markets.[0003]Distributed amplifiers generally employ a topology in which inductors or transmission lines (T-lines) separate two or more uniform ampli...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

However, despite the additive nature of the gain, the distributed architecture still produces a relatively low overall gain and gain-bandwidth product.

One of primary sources of performance degradation in distributed amplifiers is the non-zero inductive loss and non-zero output resistance of the amplifier stages, which can decrease both the overall gain and bandwidth.

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